No Nba Stars? U.s. Fans May Care This Time

It's Monday morning. Have you received your invitation to play on the U.S. Olympic basketball team yet?

If not, don't stop working on your crossover dribble. Your country may need you before the plane leaves for Athens.

Seven of the nine players originally chosen have dropped out for various reasons. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are getting married, though not to each other. Tracy McGrady has mentioned wedding plans, but it may be that he'll be too busy packing.

Kobe Bryant reportedly has some legal matters to tend to. Kenyon Martin has a headache scheduled for August. Mike Bibby was the latest dropout, saying last week that "a lot of things" went into his decision, such as the fact he hated Zorba the Greek.

If this keeps up, Coach Larry Brown will be starting Tim Duncan and four guys from the Y. To which I say: Good. It could make us get as pumped about Olympic basketball as we do Greco-Roman wrestling.

But wait, you say. We don't know our Greco from our Roman, much less care either way.

We did when Rulon Gardner beat an unbeatable Russian in 2000. Then we went back to ignoring any wrestling not involving Vince McMahon. But the point is that what makes the Olympics the Olympics are stories such as Gardner's.

Do you even remember who won the basketball gold medal in Sydney? OK, that's an easy one. But did you really care?

A lot of people now seem to care deeply that Vince Carter won't be in Athens to jump over some helpless Frenchman. With maps of Athens being found in terrorist starter kits, the NBA stars are being called cowards for not representing their country in a time of war.

Rowers and modern pentathletes and wrestlers aren't necessarily any braver or patriotic than Ray Allen. It's more that the Olympics are the ultimate stage for those sports. If you're a wrestler and don't live for the Olympics, you need to have your Greco-Roman checked.

NBA players grew up dreaming of NBA titles, just as tennis players and golfers would rather win Grand Slam events. I wouldn't blame Serena Williams for skipping Athens, and I doubt I'd really care if she won a gold medal.

Being rich and pampered just makes these people easier targets for criticism. That's why many of those who are ripping NBA players today were complaining before about the U.S. sending all those millionaire mercenaries.

Representing one's shoe company in the Olympics apparently isn't what it used to be. Now come replacements such as LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire, who aren't exactly untainted by modern marketing and money. But at least they seem excited at the thought of going.

If Garnett would rather stay home and pick out china patterns this summer, good for him. Will you really miss Jason Kidd, or feel cheated because Carlos Boozer is no Shaquille O'Neal?

When it comes to basketball, the U.S. is still the U.S. Sure, the world may have picked up a couple of steps on us. But nobody really believes that if Duncan, Shaq, T-Mac, Garnett and the rest got serious, we couldn't beat the next best team with Kobe's defense team tied behind our back.

All they would have proved in Athens is what we already know, that the Dream Team idea is about three Olympiads past its expiration date. Whatever their reasons, the dropouts inadvertently are doing us a favor.

We not only may remember who won the gold medal in Athens, we may actually care.